With a click, the chess pieces landed gently on the chessboard. A chess game is reaching the point where it is inextricable. But the two people playing chess seemed to be a pair of bad chess players. Because their moves were all in the middle, large black and white chess pieces were strangled together, but the pieces were scattered all around, and the corners of the territory seemed to be completely ignored.
The two people playing chess are father and son, Emperor Chongzhen and Prince Fujun Zhu Cixiang. The relationship between the two father and son has improved recently. Zhu Cixiang, who has a lot of money, sends gifts to Emperor Chongzhen every now and then. They are all good treasures obtained from the homes of four Huaiyang salt masters, some made in China and some imported from the West.
And Emperor Chongzhen’s favorite was Western clocks! This thing was a black technology thing in the late Ming Dynasty! High-quality items made by Western watch masters are very expensive. How could the stingy Emperor Chongzhen be willing to buy them? Moreover, he was also afraid that people would say that he lost his ambition by playing with things, so he did not even dare to play with the Wanli calendar in the palace and the Western clocks that he got during the Apocalypse.
But how can the clocks of Wanli and Tianqi be compared with the gadgets of Yangzhou salt merchants? There's no comparison at all...
Moreover, Chongzhen is now indulging himself. He is not afraid of people saying that he is demoralized. The more dejected he is, the safer he is!
So I have no worries and can play whatever I like!
While slowly becoming mournful, Emperor Chongzhen still did not give up the idea of regaining power. In order to one day lead the resurgence of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Chongzhen, in addition to using his moral integrity to protect himself, was also quietly learning his son's methods of governing the country...
Although Zhu Cixiang is treacherous and cruel, his methods are still very powerful! Not only can he firmly grasp the military and financial power, but he can also control a group of corrupt officials, traitors, profiteers and warlords with ulterior motives!
Although there are basically no good people in the court he controls except for the emptied Holy Emperor, that is, Chongzhen himself, we have to admit that under the governance of these bad guys, the Ming Dynasty does have signs of ZTE...
Is it true that the best way to govern a country is to use bad people?
Just when Emperor Chongzhen was playing chess with his son, he was comprehending the way of governing the country. Another bad guy named Li Yan walked in under the guidance of Feng Sizhong. Before he could salute, he was seen by Zhu Cixiang.
"The military advisor is here? No need to salute, come and talk... Pang Banban, move a chair for the military advisor."
Zhu Cixiang was not polite at all. He did not regard himself as the prince at all, but directly made the decision for Emperor Chongzhen. He also ordered Daxun Pang Tianshou, who served Emperor Chongzhen, to do things.
This Pang Tianshou was originally Da Xun of the Imperial Horse Guards. Before the fall of Beijing, he was working in Nanjing. So he is not Zhu Cixiang's person. When Chongzhen and Zhu Cixiang arrived in Yangzhou, he came from Nanjing to join them.
Zhu Cixiang was generous and did not doubt him, so he asked him to serve Chongzhen instead of Cao Huachun, who complained endlessly. Cao Huachun was used to enjoying himself and could no longer serve others! Moreover, he is now also a hero in overcoming difficulties. He has been granted the title of Jing Hai Bo, so why should he be a eunuch?
Li Yan didn't hesitate and just sat down on the chair brought by Eunuch Pang, which made Emperor Chongzhen frown.
How could such a robber scholar with no rules become a military advisor... Shouldn't a military advisor be like Zhuge Liang? How could you let a robber do it?
"Military advisor, what's going on over there in Runing?"
It turned out that on his way south from Yanzhou, Zhu Cixi sent Hong Niangzi, Feng San and Chen Yingyuan to Runing Mansion, and also brought 2,000 grams of new troops, 300,000 taels of silver, as well as the remnants of the rogue bandits in the Runing Mansion area and the Dabie Mountain Bandits. of the decree.
Runing Mansion was once occupied by Li Zicheng's people, but now Li Zicheng was shrinking his troops and preparing for a decisive battle with the Qing army, so Runing Mansion, which was considered a scrap for Dashun, gradually gave up.
"Master Qiansui," Li Yan said with a smile, "the bandits south of the Huaihe River are almost gone. Now Gushi, Guangzhou, Shangcheng, Guangshan, Luoshan and Xinyang are all in our hands! If the king of Tang can conquer the vassal as soon as possible, Runing's mansion will soon be stable!"
Zhu Cixiang nodded and suddenly turned his gaze to Emperor Chongzhen, who was studying the chess game with his head down: "Father, what do you think?"
"What?" Chongzhen was stunned and looked up at his son.
Zhu Cixiang smiled and said, "Father, do you think we should let the King of Tang go to Runing to become a vassal?"
Chongzhen was stunned again and again: If I am not being ignored by the traitor, how can I still care about the Tang Dynasty king? Are you testing me?
"You don't need to ask me about this," Chongzhen said, "Brother, just make the decision."
Chongzhen can also cheat now and can pretend to be apolitical...
Of course Zhu Cixi understood that this foolish father was pretending, and smiled and said: "The matter of canonizing a vassal king is not a trivial matter, and it still requires an imperial edict from the father. Besides, Runing, where Tang Fan is going this time, is extremely important to half of the Ming Dynasty. , almost the same as Denglai. As long as Runing is not lost and Denglai is not destroyed, the defense of Jianghuai will be impregnable!"
"Really?" Emperor Chongzhen was noncommittal.
Zhu Cixiang picked up a chess piece, tapped the chessboard in front of him, and said: "The Jianghuai defense is just like the chess game in front of me. Fengyang, Huai'an, Xuzhou, and Yangzhou are the middle sections. They look extremely important, but the real decision is But the places of victory and defeat are in the corners! That is, Denglai, Xiangyang, and Runing. Now that Denglai is strong and stable, and there is Lu Fan sitting on Taiyi Mountain, there is no danger. But Xiangyang is in the hands of rogue bandits, and it is not safe for the time being. There is no way to recover. So Runing and Wuchang have become barriers to guard the flanks of the Jianghuai River. Once they are lost, the Northern Army will move down the river and reach Jinling!"
"Is it that important?" Emperor Chongzhen frowned.
His foolish king is "pretending", he can't just watch half of the vassal screen in the south of the Yangtze River be lost!
"Your Majesty," Li Yan on the side took over Emperor Chongzhen's question and explained, "Runing relies on Dabie and the Huaihe River. The terrain is difficult and the people's customs have always been strong. Many of the so-called Huaixi warriors come from you. Ning area. If Runing is in the hands of the court and guarded by the vassal king, then Huaixi's elite soldiers can be owned by the country, and the Dabie Mountains can become the country's fortress. Even if the thieves come down the river from Fuhan, Xiangyang, He will be controlled by Runing's soldiers and cannot let go.
Moreover, Runing's soldiers can not only defend, but also attack! Runing Prefecture belongs to Henan, with Kaifeng Prefecture bounded to the north and Nanyang Prefecture bounded to the west. If there are 20,000 powerful soldiers in Runing, the enemies of Kaifeng and Nanyang will have trouble sleeping! "
"Father, as long as the Tang Dynasty can control Runing, the western front of Jianghuai will be able to rest easy!" Zhu Cixiang said with a smile, "And if Denglai and Taiyi are not lost, the eastern front of Jianghuai will also be safe. East and west When both fronts are secure, we can enjoy peace and prosperity in Nanjing!"
What? Do you want to enjoy Nanjing now? Chongzhen was a little disappointed, but he still nodded, "In that case, I will issue an order..."
He spoke very slowly and looked at Zhu Cixi furtively.
To be honest, he really wanted to declare his existence!
Emperor Chongzhen had already seen that Zhu Cixiang was not an ordinary rebellious son, but a rebellious son of Li Shimin's level! If he is allowed to control the government for a long time, he, a wise king, will not be allowed to speak out. Then it won't be long before the people of the world will forget their existence...
Zhu Cixiang smiled: "The king of the Tang Dynasty has to be escorted by honorable ministers to make it appear grand!"
"Oh," Chongzhen nodded, "Who do you want to go?"
"My son wants Huaiyuan Hou Chang Yanling and Chengyi Bo Liu Kongzhao to escort the Tang Dynasty king to the vassal state." Zhu Cixiang said with a smile, "Chang Yanling is already in Yangzhou, but Liu Kongzhao is still in Nanjing. My father might as well follow the decree and let him come to Yangzhou. Let’s meet you.”
What? Emperor Chongzhen's heart suddenly sounded an alarm! It turned out that Nizi wanted to use the Tang king to declare vassal status and destroy the loyal ministers in Nanjing!
Zhu Cixiang looked at his cheap father and said with a smile: "Father... do you really want to watch the imperial court and Nanjing nobles meet each other in battle?
Our Ming Dynasty is now in an autumn of crisis, and we can no longer have internal strife! Nowadays, the imperial court clearly has the upper hand, and Nanjing's nobles and ministers are at a disadvantage. However, I have always been lenient. As long as they are willing to lower their heads, I will forget the blame. "
So that's it... Emperor Chongzhen thought to himself: This traitor turns out to want to conquer the enemy without fighting! No, this traitor is so cunning. He must be deceiving me again. Those loyal ministers in Nanjing are in trouble!
